So I was in charge of cooking tea for my family today and turned to one of my favourite cookbooks for some recipe inspiration. The Hairy Dieters (Hairy Bikers gone healthy!) have three brilliant books with lighter versions of their normal recipes. This is right up my street because, if you’re familiar with the Hairy Bikers, you’ll know their recipes usually reflect their big, hearty, northern appetites!
The books are great because they still satisfy the taste buds and at times really kid you into thinking they are the original versions but they have been modified to reduce the calories! Win win!
(Here is a picture of me fangirling at a BBC Good Food show!)
I highly recommend the books, you can get them from Amazon here
So anyway, I decided to cook swedish meatballs because I noticed we had some minced pork in the freezer.
Now I had to edit the recipe slightly because I didn’t have various ingredients. I’ll put what I used and then put what the recipe said to use too and you can decide which recipe you want to follow! The spices in the meatballs may seem a little odd but they actually work. You can’t really taste any single ingredient in the meatballs but they are wonderfully flavoursome and light so every ingredient counts!
CALORIES!
Now the book’s calorie count doesn’t include any sides. So I’ve worked out some side portion ideas and the calories in them too!
Per portion:
Meatballs and gravy: about 300 calories
1/2 cup cooked white rice: 120 calories
1/2 cup mashed potato: 110 calories
1 cup of green veg: 20-50 calories
So here’s what you’ll need:
(serves 4)
300 calories per serving of meatballs
You will need:
- For the Meatballs
- 250g lean minced beef
- 250g minced pork
- 1 onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 3 slices of bread
- 1tsp fish sauce (or 1tbsp anchovy paste as stated in the original recipe. I chose to use fish sauce because it is made from anchovies and adds a salty flavour that salt on it’s own just can’t do. You could also use worcestershire sauce)
- 50ml milk
- 1/2tsp all spice
- 1/2tsp ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper
- For the Gravy
- 100ml white wine
- 1 beef stock pot (or 500ml fresh beef stock)
- 1tbsp cornflour (or arrowroot)
- 2tbsp single cream
- tbsp redcurrant or cranberry jelly (although I didn’t have any which is a shame because I think this ingredient is pretty vital!)
Serve with: Rice, mash, pasta, or just some green vegetables!
Now, first of all, turn on the oven to 180 fan (About gas mark 6) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Next, whip out your trusty food processor! (Or chopping board and knife if you can be bothered!)
First we whiz the bread up into breadcrumbs, then, add the onion and garlic and whiz again.
Next, add the rest of the meatball ingredients and whiz again until all mixed. If you’d prefer a chunkier mixture, you can mix them all in a bowl instead. I think the mixture is meant to be a bit chunkier to be honest. But my meatballs actually turned out incredibly light and delicious being whizzed to a puree first!
Next, portion it up into 24 balls and bake for about 15 minutes.
NOW is when you want to think about getting the side dishes ready. I didn’t and ended up forgetting about the mash and then the potatoes took forever to boil resulting in tea being late!
Once you have organised that you can make the gravy. I didn’t have a sauce pan big enough so I used a frying pan which worked fine.
First, boil the wine until it is about half the quantity. I was impatient and didn’t boil all the alcohol out and the gravy tasted a bit weird 😦 Boil out your alcohol ladies and gents!
Then, make up the stock to 500ml if you haven’t already and add that to the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Then add the jelly, the cream and make up the cornflour with a little water and add that to the pan also. Stir until thick. I didn’t add enough cornflour and it could have done with more cream in retrospect.
It is important to keep tasting the gravy. At this point, I wasn’t keen on the taste of mine. I think because I’d used a shop bought stock pot, not reduced the alcohol enough and didn’t have any jelly which I think really sweetens the sauce. Oh well!
You then want to add the meatballs and simmer in the sauce for a bit.
My sauce was really quite thin because I didn’t add enough cornflour so I was worried, reducing it would overcook the meatballs, but no, the meatballs stayed beautifully tender and moist. I think it’s the addition of minced pork. I shall be trying that with my meatball pasta recipe!
Serve with your choice of side (mine was mash) and some lovely green vegetables!
NOM
Happy Eating!
RECIPE
(Serves 4)
300 Calories per serving of meatballs
- For the Meatballs
- 250g lean minced beef
- 250g minced pork
- 1 onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 3 slices of bread
- 1tsp fish sauce (or 1tbsp anchovy paste)
- 50ml milk
- 1/2tsp all spice
- 1/2tsp ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper
- For the Gravy
- 100ml white wine
- 1 beef stock pot mixed with 500ml boiling water (or 500ml fresh beef stock)
- 1tbsp cornflour (or arrowroot)
- 2tbsp single cream
- tbsp redcurrant or cranberry jelly
Serve with: Mash, Rice, Pasta, Green vegetables
1/2 cup cooked white rice: 120 calories
1/2 cup mashed potato: 110 calories
1 cup of green veg: 20-50 calories
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 180 fan (Gas 6)
- In a food processor, whiz up the brown bread until coarse crumbs are formed.
- Then add the onion and garlic and whiz again until chopped.
- Next Add the rest of the meatball ingredients and whiz again to your desired consistency. (or mix in a bowl for a coarser texture)
- Roll mixture into 24 balls and put on a baking tray with some baking paper on.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Prep and begin to cook the side dishes now.
- To make the gravy begin by boiling the wine in a large pan until reduced by half.
- Then add the stock and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Next, add the jelly, cream and cornflour mixed with a little water. Stir until thickened. If you’d like it thicker, add more cornflour.
- Add the meatballs to the pan, cook for another five minutes while finishing off the side dishes.
- Serve and enjoy!
(credit goes to the Hairy Bikers for the original version of this recipe)
Avocadon't 
Great recipe
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